Buku-buku Itu

Setelah baca Kedai 1001 Mimpi, saya jadi pengen baca2 buku lainnya... Memang sering kali begitu deh, setalah lama ga baca2, cukup 1 buku untuk bikin minat baca saya berkobar-kobar lagi. Dan tentunya hanya bisa ngiler dari jauh melihat lembaran-lembaran tersebut berada di tempat yang tidak tergapai. Untuk melepas rindu, saya lagi baca "My Hands Came Away Red", novel yang menceritakan seorang remaja Australia yang pergi ke Indonesia untuk mission trip, dan tidak disangka menjadi saksi kerusuhan antar ras, sehingga dia terpaksa kembali ke keluarganya dan pacarnya dengan trauma.

Beberapa buku yang saya lagi ngilerin:

1. The Naked Traveler (1, 2, dan 3) - Trinity

2. A9ama Saya Adalah Jurnalisme - Andreas Harsono

3. Orang Miskin Dilarang Sekolah/ Orang Miskin Dilarang Sakit - Eko Prasetyo

4. The Journeys - Kumpulan beberapa pengarang

5. Bintang Bunting - Valiant Budi

6. Madre - Dewi Lestari

7. BreX - Bondan Winarno

Saya cuma bisa berkhayal duduk membaca mojok di sebelah jendela, dengan angin sepoi-sepoi yang bertiup memainkan poni, dengan persediaan chitato yang siap dirogoh dengan tangan kiri, dan teh sariwangi hangat untuk memastikan saya tidak perlu repot lagi berdiri mencari minum kalau tiba-tiba haus. Ah, indahnya dunia...

In the Spirit of...

...trying to fund myself through the upcoming months, I am opening up the service mentioned below. If you know somebody who is interested, please refer him or her to me :) Your help is greatly appreciated!

Click on the picture for better resolution.

Kedai 1001 Mimpi

Last minute saya minta dibawain buku Kedai 1001 Mimpi ini dari Indonesia. Saat ditanya mau nitip apa dari Indo, tadinya yang kepikiran cuma seputar makanan (chitato sapi panggang.. slurrrp..). Tapi terus kepikiran, hmm, lagi ada buku bagus apa ya? Udah lama juga ga ter-update. A quick google search brought me to Kedai 1001 Mimpi by Valiant Budi. Kesan pertama dari sampulnya lumayan attractive dan kelihatan kalau kira-kira genrenya komedi. Lalu saya lihat, intinya adalah cerita seorang pekerja di Arab Saudi. Okeh, yang saya tau tentang Arab adalah panas, padang pasir, onta, wanita-wanita berbaju hitam rapat tertutup (tidak diajarkankah mereka di pelajaran IPA bahwa hitam adalah penyerap panas yang baik?), dan pria-prianya yang berbulu lebat. Menyadari sempitnya pengetahuan saya mengenai Arab Saudi, akhirnya saya memutuskan, boleh lah coba baca buku ini.

Kesan kedua setelah membaca sedikit adalah saya suka selera humornya; tidak jayus, jujur, dan bisa menertawakan diri sendiri. Dan saya pun ikut senyum-senyum, bahkan sesekali tergelak tertawa. Setelah dibaca lebih lanjut, mendengar betapa inginnya si penulis pulang ke tanah air, saya juga pengen pulaaang!!! Memang kadang-kadang keinginan kembali ke rumah itu tidak tergantung dengan enak atau tidak enaknya berada di luar negeri atau susah atau tidaknya pengalaman yang dihadapi, tapi gara-gara hal-hal sepele yang menjadi penting seketika. Seperti saya pengen bisa ngomong tanpa selalu mikir terlebih dahulu dan mencari kata-kata, atau pengen gampang membeli kecap manis di mana saja. Yak, balik ke bukunya, sebenarnya saya tidak tau harus menelan bulat-bulat cerita pengalamannya atau tidak. Mungkin buat saya kurang seimbang sehingga menonjolkan sisi jeleknya dari Arab Saudi, seolah-olah tidak ada orang yang tidak bejat di sana. Bukan berarti saya bilang dia mengarang-ngarang saja, karena tentunya kisah-kisah TKI yang bernasib buruk tidak kunjung habisnya. Tapi, saya juga pengen tau the other side of the story seperti apa sebenernya.

Untuk refreshing dan haha hihi, bukunya bagus kok, I am recommending. Untuk taken points lainnya mungkin mengenai kerja keras, kekuatan moral, dan insiders' secrets of Saudi Arabia, juga sip. But, a little heads up, it should be R-rated, so, not recommended for teenagers, hehe. Lumayan hepi juga bisa baca buku yang genre nya sedikit berbeda, lumayan berbobot, tapi ringan dan menghibur. Baca, gih, kalo lagi iseng-iseng berhadiah :)

Ithaca Travel Guide

This city is not in a lot on people's wish list of the places they would like to visit before 50 or a definite family vacation spot, but for many who have in some way crossed Ithaca's soil, it is a city to be remembered. When my family came to visit, I had a chance to take them around and got reminded on how beautiful this place is. Two seniors from Cornell made a goodbye video as they graduated this year, in which they said, "This is a place where the sun shines far too little and where it snows far to much. But there is beauty in it, and when it shines, there's life."

This Is from Alex Silver on Vimeo.

So, if you ever got the chance to visit Ithaca for say a three day trip, here's my suggestion of places to visit, things to do, and food to eat.

1. Cornell

A little bias here, but Cornell is probably one of the most beautiful campuses that I have seen. You could take a campus walking tour which leaves from Day Hall (here's the campus map) and get more explanation of the campus life and stories behind the buildings. Or you could always roam around at your own pace and take pictures without being hurried. The best way to do that is start at the area called Ho Plaza, which is a walk way stretching from near the engineering quad to the arts quad.

Things to do:

- Enter the Cornell Store to buy Cornell merchandise or books.

- The a picture of Cornell's McGraw tower or climb up the stairs to watch the chime masters play the bell and for a bird's eye view of the campus and city.

- Go to Uris Library near the Cornell Tower and visit the Andrew Dickson White's library inside Uris to see the Harry Potter like interior of the library.

- Walk to the overlook near the tower for a view of Libe Slope and a peak of Cayuga Lake.

- Walk to the Arts Quad to see Ezra Cornell and Andrew White's statues.

Places to dine:

- If you want to eat something fancy, go to Taverna Banfi, which is the Statler Hotel's restaurant, other then their entrees, they also have lunch buffet.

- Also in Statler, but the lecture classes side, not the hotel side, there is Statler's Terrace which is a cafeteria. Do get the salad, even if the line is ridiculous, it's worth it.

- Collegetown Bagel is a favorite place to go, which is located in collegetown, a short walk away from campus (well that actually depends on where you are on campus).

- When you get on collegetown, there is a wide array of restaurants you can go to, but my favorites are Rulloff's for their black and blue cheese burger, Alladin's Natural Eatery for their souvlaki, falafel pita, or cake desserts, Cafe Pacific for their sukiyaki, as well as desserts, and Miyake for their "Super Bowl".

- Old Tea House offers grrrreeat bubble tea, and has become my craving sometimes. Cafe Pacific also has bubble tea but theirs is not as good.

2. Downtown Ithaca

Ithaca downtown, also known as the Commons is a small vibrant place with unique shops and lots of vintage places. Of course there is a lack of chain shops and branded clothes, but that's the beauty of it. Strolling around at the downtown is truly pleasurable especially if you could get your hands on some second-hand clothing items at Trader K's, or second hand book at the Autumn Leaves.

If you are lucky there could be some performances and events going on. The big events at downtown include Ithaca Chili Cook-off in February where many restaurant vendors open booths for their chili tasting to win the title of best chili of the year, Ithaca Brew Fest at the start of September, and Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival usually at the end of September which is an event full of just everything that contains apple.

Finding good food is easy. My favorite places include the Mexican restaurant Viva Taqueria and Taste of Thai. And don't ever forget about Moosewood. For all the foodie out there, you probably have their cookbooks. For those who don't know, it's a famous vegetarian restaurant with varying menu everyday to adjust to the available local produce. Go there for lunch, because dinner can get a little expensive.

3. Visit Mother Nature

What is Ithaca without the gorges? The city is just surrounded by waterfalls. The tallest one is Taughannock Falls which is about a mile of hiking into the woods and on the side of Cayuga Lake. Buttermilk Falls is right on the side of Route 13. A few smaller ones are Ithaca Falls and Fall Creek Gorge. Hiking places are numerous, one of them is Robert Treman Park which also has a fall called the Lucifer falls. Most of these falls have a picnic area nearby where you can lounge around or do some barbecuing, so bring some food and drinks to eat and enjoy the scenery after you hike. You can buy some to-go food in Wegman's which costs around $7/lb if you don't feel like cooking. Wegman's is awesome, by the way, you can find everything, well, almost everything in there.

Cornell's Ornithology Lab offers free guided morning bird watching tours where you can learn to listen to different bird calls, see them flying by, and see their nests. If you come at the right time, you could see the herons and their young ones perching up at high trees. It's an interesting place to visit (for me who knows so little about birds).

For some food, Ithaca's Farmer's market is also a pleasure to visit. They open on weekends in the summer and is located at the side of Cayuga lake. So after buying some local produce, crafts, wine, or flowers (they have great flowers), go for the food and sit on the dock to enjoy them. Share some of your bread crumbs with the ducks, if you please. I love their crepes, which almost always has a waiting line, and the Cambodian food is also a clear favorite.

The Boat Yard Grill is a restaurant where you could sit outside and also enjoy Cayuga Lake. It's a bit on the pricey side, but the food is great. They do not have a reservation procedure, but you can call up before hand on the same day to tell them what time you're coming and they'll put you on a waiting list. That would reduce your waiting time.

If you happen to visit Ithaca in the winter (why would you do that??) what else can you do but ski? Greek Peak ski resort is about 20 minutes away and sometimes McDonalds has some discount coupons for beginners who would like a 1 hour lesson and access to the bunny hill.

4. Nearby Places

A little bit out of Ithaca, you could enjoy wine tasting around finger lakes area. This is a popular thing to do. For Cayuga Lake, you could go up Route 89 to find a series of wineries. Before you see the wineries, stop by a small but fantastic ice cream place called Cayuga Lake Creamery which has one of the best ice creams I have ever tasted (other than Udders in Singapore).

A must-go place while you are around here is the Corning Glass Museum at Corning which is about a 45 minutes drive away. It is an amazing museum filled with glasses from all over the world and from various time periods. They have such an incredible collection. You could also watch a glass blowing demonstration or if interested you could go for glass making classes. If you are going with somebody from around the area, or from Ithaca, go ahead and mention that to get half off admission price.

And then there's the great Niagara Falls 3 hours away from Ithaca. If you go there for a day trip and just on the US side, I would suggest that you go for the Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds only. The Imax movie could be interesting for some people, but definitely skip the aquarium and the science museum since they are small and just not worth the time. You'd be better off enjoying the scenery by walking around the park.

5. Few Other Things

I should mention 2 other restaurants that are my favorite which are Carriage House and Tamarind. Carriage house is great for brunch and they display some vintage items which are interesting. Tamarind is a Thai restaurant which for my personal taste is the best in Ithaca (get their pad sea ew or duck noodle). Ithaca also has a great coffee from Gimme Coffee, for those of you who are addicted to caffeine. Please don't go to Starbucks when you know that you have Gimme Coffee nearby.

For antique lovers, go to Ithaca Antique Center for some good deals and thrifty stuff.

If you are here in Mid March, join the Cornell community for Dragon Day where a dragon is paraded across campus which ends up in a procession to be burnt (if allowed) in the Arts Quad. All in the name of tradition and fun.

And of course, there is also Ithaca College to visit which has a beautiful campus.

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive, there's a lot to see and taste. Here's another city guide that I bumped into: http://www.designsponge.com/2011/03/ithaca-city-guide.html

Hope you can enjoy the city as much as I do!

The Flowers from the US Botanical Garden

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

- Hans Christian Andersen

SOWA Market

I went to Sowa Open Market in Boston, the mark of the start of Summer. It was my first time going to artsy/vintage shops (Urban Outfitters is not counted) and I am loving it. I don't really get how old stuff can be that expensive though, granted that they are not like ancient and rare objects. But the whole market was a real eye pleaser!